


Hurts Like Hell

by neoncore



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Character Death, Detroit Evolution, M/M, kind of, no beta we die like men, this is sort of a vent so i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neoncore/pseuds/neoncore
Summary: An alternate ending to Detroit Evolution.Nines still wakes up. But he's not the same.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	Hurts Like Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I'm in love with Detroit: Evolution, it was so amazing to see, like a movie based on a fanfic!  
> And, since I'm me, I had to write an alternate, sadder version.  
> Anyways, enjoy!

Steady beeping.

"The system reboot was successful. We performed all necessary scans and test, however his code must've been damaged more severely than we anticipated."

Voices and whispers.

"All of his memory banks are untouched and functioning, as they should be. His programming has undergone complete maintenance, which brought the expecting result - his system is back in perfect, pre-attack condition."

Light, blinding, unwavering, white.

"It's not easy for me to say this, but we noticed something else. Something you won't be pleased to hear."

Frantic thuds of his heart, threatening to beat out of his chest.

"I'm sorry to say, the wall was brought back. We don't know what caused it to appear again. Perhaps the reset of his code must've retracted all of the changes, including those caused by deviancy. Or perhaps it was caused by a glitch which entered with Ada's programming. We can't say for sure."

"Does that mean," he's long forgotten what tears feel like. He didn't remember what it was like to blink them back to try to pass as calm and collected. He never thought he'd feel all this again. "Does that mean he won't have any memories of me? Of our time together?"

The engineer sighed, a sympathetic look on her face. Gavin could barely see it. His vision was blurry from the tears.

"Not exactly, Detective. As I told you, his memory banks are operating properly. He remembers it all. All the sensations, thoughts, moments. But some of them, he can't process.

The ringing in his ears was the only thing stirring up the silence, which seemed to stretch forever.

The engineer sighed. The sympathy was replaced with sadness.

"I'm sorry, Detective. He can't _feel_ anything."

The engineer was saying something. Her voice seemed distant, the words melting together into an incomprehensible stream of white noise. Someone's hand was around his shoulder.

_He's just a machine again._

No.

He couldn't have heard that right.

He _couldn't_ have.

They were wrong. They had to be. It all had to be a mistake, a misinterpretation, anything. It couldn't be happening.

Not to him. Not to Nines. Not to _them_.

He didn't even realize when he got up, and made his way to Nines' room. He felt like he was in a trance.

Or in a morbidly realistic nightmare he couldn't wake up from.

The door slid open with a quiet 'whoosh'. As soon as it shut behind him, all the noises coming from the corridor stopped.

Nines was sitting on a bed, his LED flashing rapidly. He was absent-mindedly staring out the window, into the blinding lights of nighttime Detroit.

"Nines?"

Silence. The ringing in his ears started again.

"Nines, can you hear me?"

The android's LED turned yellow, then a pale blue. It stopped blinking as he turned to face Gavin.

"Hello, detective Reed." he said. His voice sounded artificial, completely devoid of emotion, it lacked the sarcastic undertone the detective had grown so fond of.

But his eyes were a whole different level of emotionlessness. They were ice cold and piercing, almost glowing in the scarce moonlight. Looking into them made a shiver run down Gavin's spine.

"I'm glad to see you're awake," he started carefully, walking towards the bed.

"Yes, it is rather lucky. I haven't accomplished my mission yet. I believe I'll be leaving tonight, which means we can still catch the android responsible for the crimes. I can still terminate it."

_Terminate?_

_Didn't you want to protect people?_

Maybe they weren't wrong? No they had to be, this can't-

"Don't you remember anything?" he asked before he could think. His thoughts were racing as he blinked away the tears, threatening to spill at any moment. He couldn't hide the tremble in his voice.

"I do, Detective. I remember it all. My scan shows that you're in a state of panic, I don't understand why. We can still achieve our mission." His expression was completely blank as he continued. No smile, no frown, nothing. For a split second, his LED flashed yellow, then red. And then, back to blue. "Is that about what you said to me while I was resetting?"

"You… You heard it?"

"Every word. In my ZEN garden I had a digital version of you, to help me process all of the data I take in. I created him to get a small glimpse of what a relationship with you would feel like. To have a place where for a split second I could experience what I couldn't get in real life. He's the one who told me to delete everything, and to come back. I remember the heartache I felt at the sight of you, and how I kept falling in love with you a bit more each day." He said. Cold. Emotionless. "It's all gone now, though. But I don't feel sad about it"

He couldn't hold back anymore. He ran to the bed, taking Nines' hand into his own as the tears flowed from his eyes. If you listened closely, somewhere between the whirs and beeps and his broken sobs you could hear the sound of Gavin's heart shattering into millions of bloody shards at the words that came next.

"In fact, I don't feel anything at all."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm sorry if it sucks, it was kind of a vent. Still, I hope you liked it <3


End file.
